KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii State Department of Health is advising Hawaii residents to be wary of Zika virus transmission, especially after traveling to areas where the virus is known to be spreading.
KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii State Department of Health is advising Hawaii residents to be wary of Zika virus transmission, especially after traveling to areas where the virus is known to be spreading.
The agency is working to keep the mosquito-borne disease — which is currently spreading in Florida — from becoming established here.
Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist, said that although Zika isn’t endemic to Hawaii, that doesn’t mean there’s no potential for an outbreak to occur.
Dengue fever wasn’t endemic, either, and more than 260 cases were confirmed here late last year into early 2016.
We’re “all about trying to prevent what we’re now seeing in Florida,” Park said Tuesday about the state agency’s efforts.
The Center for Disease Control recently issued a notice advising pregnant women to avoid traveling to the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami, Florida.
The agency identified the neighborhood as one where Zika is being spread.
Anybody who contracts Zika and returns to Hawaii should take extra care to avoid mosquitoes here and areas where mosquitoes might breed. Park said when travelers return, there are still precautions that can be taken, especially if someone is infected.
That’s because mosquitoes who bite an infected person could become infected themselves, which would allow the disease to spread locally among the population.
“The disease travels not because of vectors, but because of us,” Park said. “We travel and we bring it home if we’re not careful.”
Park said both species of mosquito found in Hawaii are capable of transmitting Zika, meaning it’s important for the Department of Health to get ahead of any potential infections.
And it’s not just Zika they’re focused on, she said. Diseases like chikungunya and dengue fever can also be transmitted via mosquitoes.
“We know that we are at risk for introduction for any of those,” she said.
At the beginning of last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it would give more than $1 million in federal grant funding to the state.
That money, Park said, is helping the state track and monitor the risk for mosquito-borne illnesses, including Zika, to be locally transmitted in Hawaii.
It also allows the state to be less reliant on mainland labs for testing specimens, saving time in the process.
Park said given the overarching efforts to tackle mosquito-borne diseases as a whole rather than Zika alone, the recent dengue outbreak brought much needed attention to the public health risk mosquitoes present.
“The dengue outbreak really reminded us why we need to be cautious about mosquitoes,” said Park.
As a result, she said, the state health department’s efforts also involve changing the public’s mindset about mosquitoes.
Park said the approach is less about treating mosquitoes as a simple nuisance and more for the disease carriers that they are.
“And treat them as such,” Park said.
And while the Department of Health continues to monitor the situation, Park said, Hawaii residents can take measures to prevent the spread themselves.
“The first step is to practice ongoing mosquito prevention,” Park said.